


Dan and Phil Crafts.

by jackmarkdanphil2003



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Dan and Phil Crafts, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-03
Updated: 2017-05-22
Packaged: 2018-10-14 14:16:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10538208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jackmarkdanphil2003/pseuds/jackmarkdanphil2003
Summary: Dan and Phil.Two You Tubers who have stolen the hearts of millions all over the world.As of 2017, they have been on tour, and they’ve made two books together.April 1st of 2015 Dan and Phil created a channel titled “Dan and Phil Crafts”.It was assumed to be a joke due to the date it was posted but whoever said it was a joke?What if this is what Dan and Phil are really like?How did they come to be like this?





	1. Chapter 1

“Hey Dan?” it was March 12 in 2015.

Dan and Phil were having a day like any other.

Wake up around 10, eat brunch and then assume browsing positions.

“Yeah?” Dan called from his room where he was getting changed.

“Have you seen my charger?” Phil called.

“I swear to god Phil, if I come out there and it’s sitting in plain sight again…” Dan said in an irritated tone.

Regardless, Dan stood up and cursed under his breath as he left his room to go and help Phil look for his-

“It’s right there Phil” Dan sighed in exasperation “I swear to god you would lose your head if it wasn’t attached to your shoulders!”

Phil looked at where Dan had gestured and smiled sheepishly

“Whoops!” he said with a giggle.

As usual, Dan couldn’t stay irritated at Phil and so he smiled and shook his head before leaving the room to retrieve his own laptop.

As he walked down the hallway though the strangest thing happened; He could swear he heard footsteps behind him.

He turned around to look just in case but as expected, there was nothing there. With a shrug Dan pivoted and continued forward into his bedroom.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Phil shut off the tv and turned to look at Dan.

“It’s almost 6:30 Dan. If you still want to order something for dinner then now’s the time to do it.”

“Alright. I’ve got a place in mind but I have a slight issue with it” Dan said as he opened up his laptop.

“I heard of this really good pizza place that I want to try out.”

“Okay?” Phil replied confused

“But the one issue is that it’s got no delivery.” Dan finished.

“Oh.” Phil replied “I can see the problem.”

“So I was wondering if you would be a dear and go pick up the pizza? Just this once?”

Phil was going to turn it down but, could he really say no to that face?

“Alright fine” Phil sighed “But next time you go.”

“Yes! Thank you Phil!” Dan cheered before sinking back into his famous browsing position.

Phil rolled his eyes and smiled as he put on his shoes and walked out the door.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Phil walked down the streets looking for the pizza place.

Completely absorbed in his thoughts, Phil was way too distracted to ever notice the dark figure following him down the streets.

It was only when Phil stopped in front of an alleyway that the figure jumped at him. Phil went to scream but his mouth was covered before he could.

“Welcome Philip. You will do great things for us.” The figure whispered in his ear before knocking him out.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Phil woke up he was in a completely white room. The only splash of color was a light brown carpet that was underneath him.

Phil groaned and slowly sat up whilst letting his eyes adjust to the unnatural brightness of the room.

“Where am I?” he whispered to himself.

“Gooood question my friend!” a cheery voice, which seemed to be coming from every direction, exclaimed.

“You’re in the place where you will learn to be happy.” The voice shouted.

“But I am already happy.” Phil whispered, finding his voice was unable to go to a higher volume.

“You think you are happy!” the voice exclaimed.

Suddenly a panel opened and out of the floor on a platform a man rose.

Phil looked at the sleeping figure curiously.

“I want you to make art.” The voice came from everywhere again.

“I want to see you make him your art project.”

“WHAT!?” Phil shouted, finding the power to speak again.

“You heard me”

“What if I don’t, huh? What will happen then?” Phil demanded

Suddenly and image of Dan appeared on the wall in front of him.

A red ‘x’ was over his eyes.

“Oh” Phil whispered.

“Well, now what are we going to do?” the cheery voice asked

Phil took a deep breath and let it out.

“Make art.” He muttered

“That’s right! Think of him as… your arts and crafts project!”

“Arts and crafts?” Phil repeated.

That’s not so bad. Just think of it like that. Phil thought as he approached the sleeping man.

A panel in the floor opened right beside Phil. Phil peered into it to find a box and a knife sitting on top of it.

Curious, Phil opened the box first and found glitter and a squeeze bottle of glue.

“If I cover his face in glitter he’ll seem less human. This will be easier.” Phil reasoned.

And so he did just that. He poured glue all over the unconscious man’s face and then dumped glitter on that.

Returning to the panel, Phil retrieved his knife and sat in front of the man.

“I’m doing this for you Dan. I love you Dan.” Phil muttered to himself.

And it was with that that Phil raised the knife and stabbed the man’s chest.

Phil backed up immediately afterwards and began to sob. He placed a hand over his mouth and clutched at his hair with the other hand.

“Oh my god. I killed him. He’s dead.” Phil muttered in shock

“That’s not nearly enough Philip.” The voice from all direction exclaimed.

“WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME THEN!?” Phil shouted, now angry.

“For you to take that anger and use the canvas provided to express it.”

Phil looked ahead of him at the corpse.

He thought of Dan. If he didn’t do this then Dan was in danger. He couldn’t let that happen.

“Okay…” Phil whispered to himself. “Don’t cry, don’t you dare cry. Be strong. Dan needs you.”

Phil slowly dragged himself forward and with a trembling hand he picked up the knife once again.

“Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry.” He muttered to himself, the steady mantra keeping him sane.

“You can do this Phil. Make this your craft project.” Phil whispered.

“Don’t cry… Craft. Don’t cry, craft!” Phil repeated this to himself as he cut patterns into his ‘canvas’.

Diamond shapes on the arms, squares on his legs and a big smile added to his glittery face.

Covered in blood and sweat, Phil sat cross legged in front of the canvas he had been provided.

“Dan’s going to be safe now, right?” Phil asked in a monotone.

“Of course he will be Philip. But I need you to do something for me.”

“Do something?” Phil asked devoid of all emotion.

“Yes, do something. I need you to return every night this week after Dan goes to sleep.”

“Why?” Phil asked

“Because you need to continue to make beautiful art pieces like this one for me.”

Phil knew he should be reacting. He should be screaming and sobbing. He should be ripping his own hair out or doing something… Anything.

But he found that all he was capable of doing was sitting there and staring at his supposed ‘masterpiece’.

He didn’t want to come back. He didn’t want to ever experience anything like this again but if this was what was required to keep Dan safe…

“I’ll do it.”


	2. Waking up and Returning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phil wakes up.   
> Phil returns.

Phil woke up in his bed.  
“Oh thank god it was just a dream!”  
Phil felt relieved and happy until he turned over and saw a note written in that same familiar substance from his ‘dream’.  
“See you tonight Philip!” The note said.  
Phil’s eyes widened and he screamed.  
Dan came running into the room with a concerned look on his face.  
Phil hid the note under his bed before he turned to look at Dan.  
“Good morning.” Phil said and attempted to smile but he knew that it probably looked broken.  
“What the hell happened!? Are you alright?” Dan exclaimed, rushing over to Phil.  
“I was so worried about you, you idiot! You never came home with that pizza so I ordered. I called you a million times! Why didn’t you reply?”  
Phil was frozen in place. Dan was safe. Dan’s okay. That’s all that matters.  
“Phil?” Dan sounded less stressed now and more concerned as he stared at his friend who was sitting on the floor cross legged, staring off into space.  
“Haha… very funny buddy but your starting to freak me out now…”  
After another minute it became clear that Phil wasn’t going to respond anytime soon.  
“PHIL GOD DAMN IT SNAP OUT OF IT” Dan shouted, finally losing his temper.  
Phil blinked and looked at Dan and smiled his normal smile.  
“Hey Dan! What’cha doing here?” Phil replied merrily as if nothing had happened.  
Dan froze in disbelief. What the actual fuck had just happened?  
Phil looked at Dan and found that he was suddenly able to think clearly. All he had to do was push the memories to the very back of his mind. This new side that was forming just suppress it and then everyone can be happy.  
Dan was still staring at Phil, dumbfounded at the sudden change in behavior. He couldn’t figure out how to respond.  
“Umm… I was here because you screamed.” Dan said slowly now questioning himself on that. “But I guess I imagined that.”  
Phil laughed at Dan’s mistake and stood up. “Oh Dan, of course you heard a scream.” Phil said sarcastically.  
“Okay, let’s go have breakfast since we’re up so early!” Phil said joyfully. Dan decided to forget about it and move on with his and Phil’s day.  
“Alright then, as long as you’re fine.” Dan said as he followed Phil into the kitchen.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Phil checked Dan’s room to make sure that he was asleep. With a sigh, he turned and left the apartment.  
“I don’t want to do this.” Phil muttered to himself “But if it protects Dan then I will do whatever I have to do.”  
When he finally arrived at the alleyway from the previous night, he sat down and waited.  
Sure enough, after about five minutes of waiting a door opened beneath him.  
Reluctantly, Phil allowed himself to be lowered down into the same white room with that single brown carpet.  
“Welcome back Philip.” The voice came from over the speakers.  
“Yeah yeah, what do I have to do tonight?” Phil asked, irritated and frightened by his situation.  
“My my… Eager are we?”  
“Well, you could say that.” Phil muttered  
“Well, I won’t keep you waiting then! Here you go! Remember, creativity.”  
“Be creative, and you will save Dan” Phil repeated this to himself under his breath. The trap door in the floor opened up and a young woman, no older than 23, suddenly lay on the floor in the room with him.  
“Have fun and remember it’s all about the creativity.” The voice came once more.  
Once again Phil was left to his own devices.  
He slowly approached the woman. He crouched in front of her and grimaced. “Here we go again.” He whispered to himself as the panel in the floor that had contained the glitter and the glue yesterday opened up.  
Phil opened the box and found that the glitter was still there except now he had a saw at the bottom of the box.  
He gulped, suddenly understanding what he would have to do tonight.  
Begrudgingly, Phil reached in and grabbed the saw handle.  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
It had been a whole month of the same routine. Wait until Dan was asleep, leave to the alleyway, make art and then go home.  
His art projects were almost like second nature to him now. He didn’t really care what he was doing was wrong.  
Everything stayed the same until one night.  
“Hey, Philip?” the familiar, almost comforting voice said from over the loudspeakers.  
“Yes?” Phil replied looking up from his project.  
“I have something for Dan.” The voice said.  
Phil immediately growled  
“It’s nothing harmful, I promise!” the voice insisted  
Phil knew that if anything the voice was consistent. If they promised something, they meant it.  
Phil nodded and turned when he hear the sound of the panel that usually contained his art supplies open up.  
When Phil opened the box he found a CD.  
“What is this?” Phil asked curiously  
“Oh, nothing too important. Just make sure it gets to Daniel.”


	3. CD

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phil plays the CD

Phil woke up the next day back in his room as normal.

He woke up and went to the kitchen to make breakfast with a big smile on his face. Things seemed to be settling into a comfortable routine. Everything seemed to be happy now.

Phil started to make pancakes and set the table. If he planned on showing a video to Dan that was given to him in his crafts room then he wanted to make sure that everything was happy beforehand just in case.

Just then, as if on cue, Dan emerged from his room.

“Oh, hey Phil,” Dan said before yawning “Good morning!”

Phil turned and smiled at Dan. “Good morning!” Phil greeted.

There was a pause and Phil decided to break it by mentioning the video.

“Hey, Dan?” Phil said

“Yeah? What is it?” Dan asked turning around and looking at Phil from his seat on the couch.

“I have this CD and I wanted to show you something.” Phil said with his back turned so Dan couldn’t see the slightly anxious expression on his friends face.

“Alright!” Dan agreed cheerfully “Just give it to me and I’ll pop it in while you finish up on our pancakes.”

Phil breathed a sigh of relief. At least that was one part out of the way. Phil thought to himself that he really should have watched it beforehand. He briefly considered backing out of showing the video but then remembered who it was he was dealing with.

Phil scurried over to Dan and handed over the CD before running back to the stove to continue cooking.

“You can start it without me.” Phil called over his shoulder to Dan.

“Alright!” Dan called back.

The video began to play.

Phil heard the sound of himself groaning.

There was a pause and then he heard his own voice

 _“Where am I?_ ”

Phil whipped around in terror and sure enough his suspicions were confirmed.

_“Gooood question my friend!”_

There on the tv was the first night in his crafting room.

_“You’re in the place where you will learn to be happy!”_

Phil shrieked and ran towards the tv. He jumped in front of the screen and blocked it.

_“But I’m already happy”_

“Phil? What the hell man!” Dan exclaimed, confused as he attempted to see around Phil and look at the screen.

_“You think you are happy!”_

Dan won by pushing Phil out of the way.

Phil collapsed to the floor and curled up in a ball and began rocking back and forth.

_“I want you to make art”_

“No no no no no no”

_“I want to see you make him your art project.”_

“Phil what the hell is this?” Dan asked now concerned.

_“WHAT!?”_

Dan was going to turn to look at Phil but after hearing Phil on the television shout he found himself glued to the spot. He had to see what Phil was so desperate to hide.

_“You heard me.”_

“Phil, what happened? When was this?” Dan asked

_“What if I don’t, huh? What will happen then?”_

Phil curled in on himself even more. What was bothering him most out of all of this would be the fact that what was bothering him wasn’t what he was guilty of but more of getting caught.

_“Oh”_

Phil slowly uncurled himself and began to stand up.

_“Well, what are we going to do now?”_

Phil stood behind Dan, ready for when he tried to run as an automatic reaction to the video.

_“Make art.”_

“Phil? What does that mean” Dan asked tone growing increasingly horrified.

_“That’s right! Think of him as… your arts and crafts project!”_

Dan’s face was consumed by horror and confusion

_“Arts and crafts?”_

_“If I cover his face in glitter, he’ll seem less human. This will be easier.”_

_“I’m doing this for you Dan. I love you Dan.”_

It was then that Phil pounced at the TV. He hit the off button just in time. Once the TV was off and he was sure he was in the clear, Phil slowly turned around and saw Dan just standing there.

“Phil… What the fuck?” Dan asked in just above a whisper.

Phil looked down and sighed “I wish I could give a reasonable explanation Dan, I really do.”

Phil looked up and smiled that familiar innocent smile that could make Dan melt. Phil reached forward a hand.

“Just trust me, follow me and I’ll show you what happened, okay?”


	4. Don't you dare run from me Daniel James Howell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Entrance

“Phil, where are we going?” Dan asked.

Phil had him by the hand and was leading him through the streets that he knew led to his arts and crafts place.

“You’ll see.” Phil replied. Phil knew exactly where they were going but he had no idea what the hell he was going to do when they got there.

“Okay Phil, I trust you” Dan said.

Man did those words sting when Phil knew where he was leading Dan.

Phil noticed where they were and froze.

“Phil? Why’d you stop?” Dan asked.

“Shh.” Phil hushed Dan.

He stepped forward and stood on the space where he knew the platform was and knocked on the ground.

“Hey! I’m a bit early, I know but I need to come in.”

There was a pause, then a loud whirring and the floor began to sink underneath them as the platform lowered.

Phil turned to look at Dan who looked completely weirded out.

“What the hell just happened?” Dan asked Phil simply laughed at Dan’s reaction and turned back to look forwards.

“Helloooooooooo~ Philip!” The voice from the speakers echoed throughout the room.

“Hey!” Phil replied.

He stepped off the platform and into the now familiar short hallway with Dan in tow.

“Oh!! I see you showed your friend the video~”

“Yeah I did…” Phil said with a suddenly dark tone

“Not cool man. Not cool.” Phil growled

“I get that and I’m sorry but trust me, there is a reason why!”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Dan turned and looked at the walls to try to trace the source of the voice that Phil was talking to to no avail.

“Phil?” Dan interrupted, his voice shaking in fear, “Who are you talking to and where are they?”

Phil looked at Dan and tilted his head in confusion.

“You… You CAN hear them too, right?” Phil asked nervously.

“Yeah! Yeah I can! You’re not hearing things.” Dan reassured Phil and immediately he let out a sigh of relief.

“There’s one worry out of the way!” Phil laughed.

Dan joined in the laughter but once it had gone quiet again he asked, “Where is it coming from?”.

Phil shrugged and Dan face palmed. “So, let me get this straight. You have come here before without me knowing to talk to a disembodied voice that you have never bothered to trace the source of and you show me a small video randomly and then freak out and drag me here?”

“You’re the one who freaked out!” Phil exclaimed.

“I didn’t dive at the TV screen.” Dan pointed out smugly.

“Well I…” knowing he was beaten, Phil sighed and rolled his eyes. “Fine, you win”

There was a pause and then the two boys laughed at their little argument.

“Well, whoever escalated the situation doesn't matter right now.” Dan said once they’d settled down “What matters is whatever the hell you drug me out here to go and see whatever it is you wanted me to see.”

The reminder of the reality of the situation they were in hit Phil like a sac of bricks.

He had to show Dan what he had been doing. What if he were to lose these little moments? What if he were to lose the happy life that they had built; the whole WORLD that they had built together? Phil sighed and turned away from Dan.

“Come on.” And with that, Phil moved towards the door.

Phil placed his hand on the door knob and froze.

“Dan? Can you promise me something before we go in there?”

Dan was surprised at his friends suddenly serious tone but he didn’t comment and complied “Sure! Anything.”

He sighed “No matter what you see in here, no matter what happens from here on out, we will stick together.”

Phil turned away from the door and grabbed Dan’s hands. “You have to do as I say and not ask questions. You have to listen when spoken to and most importantly,” Phil let go of Dan’s hands and placed his hand back on the doorknob

“Don’t you dare run from me Daniel James Howell.”

And it was with that that Phil turned the knob and revealed the blindingly white room.

“It's showtime.” Phil muttered before entering the room.


	5. Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All that really matters is here and now

Entering the room had always been an odd sensation to Phil. It was like you were stepping out of yourself; out of all rationality and morals.

Like you were shedding your skin temporarily, like you would do when you take off a sweater; It’s removable but you always will put it back on again eventually.

It was like this room was a part of him now, like he could let loose here.

Coming in here with Dan was an even stranger experience. To know that someone would witness the creativity that went into the work he did every night.

“Phil?” Dan called.

No, Phil wasn’t there anymore; not really anyways.

Phil would return in the morning when he was done.

“Yess?” Phil replied in a sing songy voice. His face stretched into an unnaturally wide smile.

Dan’s eyes widened and Phil’s smile dampened a bit.

“What’s wrong?” Phil asked sadly.

“N-Nothing.” Dan replied.

Phil smiled a more normal smile before moving into the center of the room.

“Hellooooooo!” He shouted “I have all night!”

“One canvas coming right up!” the same voice from earlier called.

Phil turned to see Dan watching in confusion.

He mouthed the word canvas, clearly questioning Phil and he just laughed in response.

“Oh yeah! You wouldn’t know.” Phil exclaimed “I’ll tell you what, you can go first!” he said.

“What?” Dan asked only to be ignored.

Phil bounded forward and tapped his foot on a platform.

It sunk into the ground and returned with a box.

Phil gestured towards it so Dan moved forwards and opened it.

Inside the box were a bottle of glue, paper and some markers. Dan reached in to look for more but something pricked his finger. He pushed aside the markers and there was a knife sitting at the bottom.

That’s when Dan made the big mistake of looking up. There he saw the supposed ‘canvas.’

Phil observed as his friend’s eyes widened and as he looked at Phil in terror.

“What did you mean by canvas?” Dan asked in a voice barely above a whisper.

Phil silently took the knife from Dan’s hands.

“What did you mean by canvas?” Dan asked in a normal tone that was now dripping with dread.

Phil approached the canvas. Just another art project.

“PHILIP MICHEAL LESTER! WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU MEAN BY CANVAS!?”

Phil snapped.

He shot up from his crouching position above the canvas and moved towards Dan.

He leant down and got close enough that their noses were touching. Dan could feel the knife’s presence just in front of his stomach.

“I meant this Sherlock.” Phil snarled.

He shot back up and plunged the knife into the canvas eliciting a scream from Dan.

“NO! OH MY GOD, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!?”

Phil was blinded by absolute fury.

Why couldn’t he see?

Why didn’t he understand the art?

“PHIL! Stop!” Dan’s cries began to fade as his sobs took over.

Phil relented after a while and approached Dan.

“So you brought me here to make me one of your ‘art pieces’ huh?” Dan asked sarcastically.

Phil stood looking down at Dan.

Dan.

The same Dan who he had talked to on Skype every night for hours.

Phil dropped the knife

The same Dan who he had persuaded to begin a YouTube career.

"What the fuck am I doing?"

The same Dan who he moved to London with.

Phil fall to his knees.

The same Dan who he treasured.

“Phil, are you crying?” Dan asked

“Do I even deserve to cry anymore?” Phil asked in a quiet voice.

Dan’s heart shattered and any anger that was there vanished.

He opened his arms and Phil dived in.

They didn’t care if they were now both drenched in blood.

They dint care if there was a corpse right in front of them.

They didn’t care about what the future would hold for them.

All that mattered was here and now.


	6. Did you think you'd get rid of me that easily you spork?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Look Dan, I would never in a million year hurt you..."  
> "I know"  
> ...  
> ...  
> "Do you?"

“So how long has this been going on?” Dan asked.

The two boys were back at their apartment sitting on the couch. Phil was lying with his head on the armrest while Dan stroked his hair.

Phil sighed in bliss before answering “Maybe a few weeks now? I don’t know.”

Dan hummed in confirmation before asking another question “And do you want it to stop?”

Phil’s eyes shot open and he sat up. “What do you mean?” he asked cautiously.

“If you don’t want to stop, I’ll pretend I don’t know anything.” Dan offered nonchalantly.

Phil was baffled by Dan’s generous yet demented suggestion.

“Really? You’d just turn a blind eye?” Phil asked.

“Yeah. I mean, why not? All I could really do if I did anything is damage this happy life we have created.”

Phil smiled at Dan’s kindness.

This seemed to good to be true…

Too good to be…

Phil woke up in his bedroom without explanation as to how he had gotten there as usual.

He went to the kitchen and spotted Dan.

He went to say good morning but the second Phil moved Dan flinched.

Phil let his hand drop as he stared at Dan, hurt by his fear.

“Look, Dan, I’d never in a million years hurt you.” Phil said softly.

Dan avoided eye contact and shuffled his feet.

“I know that.” Dan replied in the same soft tone as Phil.

Silence fell over the room as the two men tried to think of where to go from here.

“Do you?” Phil asked quietly, breaking the silence. “Look, I know what you saw last night wasn’t normal…”

Dan gave a look as if to say ‘duh’

“A-and I just want you to know…” Phil looked down at his feet and bit his lip, using all his willpower to try and keep himself from crying. “That if you wanted to leave right now I would understand.” Phil said in a voice barely above a whisper.

Looking up, Phil smiled weakly at Dan.

Dan’s P.O.V:

Dan felt like his world was crashing around him as he watched Phil hang his head and sadly leave the room.

Why was this happening?

Just a few days ago he and Phil had been perfect, the friendship that everyone envied and desired.

They completed each other… So how could he walk away from the one person who was willing to put up with his shit?

“Phil?” Dan asked trying to get his friend’s attention.

Phil froze but after a moment slowly turned around to face Dan.

“Yes?” Phil’s voice sounded so small and broken that it felt like Dan’s heart was being ripped out and stomped on.

“Do you really think that you would ever be able to get rid of me that easily you spork?” Dan said meaning to sound happy but it came out as a sad tone despite his efforts.

Phil’s eyes lit up as it dawned on him that he wasn’t losing everything.

Dan smiled and Phil charged forward and tackled Dan in a hug.

“Thank you Dan! I promise you that we’ll figure this out.” Phil whispered in Dan’s ear as he lay on top of him, squeezing all the air out of Dan’s lungs.

“Yup. But in order to do that I have to be alive Phil” Dan said.

Phil paused but then as soon as he realized what Dan meant he rolled off of him and onto the floor next to him.

The two boys laughed and laughed as if they didn’t have a care in the world.

Dan eventually stood up and offered a hand to Phil to help him up.

“Soooo… Dinner?” Phil asked and Dan smirked.

“Let’s just stick with a place we know this time, okay?”


	7. HELLO CRAFTEES/ Descent into Madness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> HELLOOOOOO CRAFTEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSss

Phil was blown away at Dan’s willingness to move past something so extreme.

Perhaps he felt the same way?

They really did complete each other and besides, they had built a world together and they had said before that no matter what they would keep that world intact.

“Good morning Philip” Dan mumbled as he entered the living room.

“More like good afternoon but the gesture is acknowledged.” Phil said before giggling at his comment.

“Har dee har har” Dan said sarcastically before smiling at Phil.

“You know, I was thinking that April fools is coming up.” Phil said “Have you got any ideas for a prank on our viewers?”

Dan smirked and then burst out laughing, much to Phil’s confusion.

“What’s so funny?”

“Oh nothing, I just had an idea is all” Dan said now settling down

“Well, if it’s that funny I’d like to hear it!” Phil pouted.

Dan rolled his eyes before giving in. “Fine, I thought what if we started a new channel?”

“Go on” Phil encouraged

“Dan and Phil… CRAFTS!” Dan exclaimed.

Phil rolled his eyes but started to laugh as well. Mostly he was just glad that they could laugh about this kind of stuff. “You know what? That’s actually a good idea” Phil said

“What?” Dan said, freezing mid laugh

“I mean, if you’re up for it…” Phil trailed off, afraid that he’s made stuff awkward.

“I’m totally in! I just thought that you wouldn’t want to do it.” Dan said.

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s just use the laptop camera and film it right now!” Phil exclaimed.

The two boys laughed as they set up the laptop and decided on what craft they wanted to do. Thinking of their subscribers reactions was titillating to say the least.

Finally, they were ready.

“Hey, guys!” Phil said Dan fought laughter as he thought of what was to come

“Hello internet!” Dan turned to look at Phil and saw that he was already enjoying this as much as Dan found himself enjoying it

“And welcome to our brand-new channel-“

“DanAndPhilCRAFTS!” They both shouted at the same time.

“Yup, we’ve done vlogging, we did gaming and now it’s time to share our other passion with the internet:” Dan turned and smirked at Phil before saying “Crafts.”

Phil was so happy that Dan didn’t mind him letting this side of himself show “I love crafts.”

Dan smiled at how happy Phil was to be doing this. Maybe this wasn’t so bad? Anyone else in their postion would do the same, right? Keeping each other happy should be the ultimate goal. “So, Phil, what are we making today in our first video?”

Phil smiled “Well, everyone knows that the winter season was all about snowflakes.”

“Yes, ???.”

“Well, as Easter approaches it’s a little bit chilly outside, get a bit of that winter feeling back-“

“Mmh.”

“-with squareflakes.” Phil exclaimed holding up the paper that was lying on the table in front of them.

Dan exclaimed “Whoa! What are those, Phil?”

“It’s a snowflake but the size of an A4 sheet of paper.”

“What will we need for this crafting adventure?”

“For this crafting adventure you will need: scissors! An A4 sheet of paper! You could use card, maybe thing card, brown paper, pink paper, green paper, orange paper, purple paper…”

Dan decided to add in “Brown paper?” after thinking of some of the materials used in Phil’s first arts and crafts project that Dan had seen.

“Brown paper.” Phil agreed with a smile.

“Brown paper. What is step one?”

“Uh, step one is: Fold your paper in half. Make sure the corner line up or you’ll be sad at the lack of symmetry in your squareflake.”

“Very true. PRO TIP! Huh!” Dan exclaimed.

The two boys froze before bursting out laughing.

“Cut that out future us.” Dan added in

“Hah! Then fold it in half again.” Phil began to fold the paper in half but Dan noticed that his smile had disappeared and that he was suddenly breathing very heavely. He almost appeared to be in some sort of trance. Before Dan could question it, Phil’s face snapped back to a wide smile.

“Then, if you’re feeling crazy-“ Phil continued.

Dan laughed nervously as he realized what they were doing. He began to grasp the gravity of the situation. Here he sat next to a killer that he called his best friend and he was joking around about all that had happened. “I think I am this morning.”

“I know I am.” Phil said before continuing to give the instructions. “-fold it in half again.”

“Man, this is just-“ Before he could say crazy, Dan cut himself off. He was doing this for Phil.

Lovely, angel Phil.

Surely Phil couldn’t ever do something wrong? No, Phil was perfect and if Phil could do this stuff, so could he. “crafts is so exciting!”

“Important rule, Dan.”

“Uh huh?” Dan acknowledged nervously. Why did Phil suddenly seem so serious?

“This edge, known as the folded edge,-“

“The folded edge. PRO TIP!” Dan chimed in

“Should not be completely cut.” Phil continued.

“Okay.”

“Or your snowflake will die.” Phil said before his face once again, snapped back into a smile. “Get your scissors and start to chop into the edges of your folded square.”

“Any way that your creativity allows you to! Cause that’s what this channel’s all about.” Dan exclaimed finding that he was genuinely having way too much fun.

“Creativity!” They both exclaimed happily.

“ You can do triangles, squares-“ Phil began listing.

“I’m gonna do a wave” Dan said before giggling.

“Seven circles. No, Dan, Dan, Dan. What are you doing?”

“ I-I” Dan found himself stuttering on the receiving end of Phil’s anger.

“Do it neater. Neat and soft.” Phil commanded.

Dan obeyed before shaking it off and going back to the video “And remember kids: Don’t run with scissors!”

“PRO TIP!” Phil exclaimed before smiling at Dan.

“This is just fun to imagine.”

“So tell us about what the squareflakes mean to you, Phil. Why have you chosen this to be our debut crafting adventure?” Dan said with a smirk as he glanced over at Phil. Phil chuckled at Dan’s messing around before giving an acceptable answer

“Sometimes I miss winter when it gets to spring.”

“Mmh.” Dan agreed sarcastically knowing that this wasn’t the reason.

“I plan on making thousands of these and sticking them on every surface.” Phil said.

Dan laughed at his friends joking around since they both knew Dan would somehow end up cleaning that up if Phil did do that.

“I look forward to that.”

“Now show the camera your design.” Phil instructed.

“This is what I went for.” Dan said as he held up his folded square flake to the camera.

“I went for this!” Phil said doing the same.

"So, all you need to do is carefully -very carefully!- unfold your paper and that will create the squareflake.” The two boys unfolded their square flakes.

“Woooowww! Look! It’s like a square snowflake!”

“Look at it! Isn’t it great! Hopefully, you’ll have a great time improving your life with your squareflakes.” Phil said happily.

Dan started to laugh. He could feel his sanity slowly dissipating and he found that he was fine with it.

Phil eventually started to laugh as well until they were both laughing hysterically at absolutely nothing.

“So there we go. That was: a squareflake!” The both said together once they had settled down.

Dan said jokingly “So we plan on uploading to this channel every day.”

“Twice” Phil interjected as he lightly kicked Dan under the table.

“Sorry, twice every day.” Dan corrected himself before he and Phil started laughing again.

Dan continued “So if you want to subscribe and become a Crafty then just click down there and remember kids:”

Phil smiled, realizing where Dan was going with this. He looked to the camera with a wide smile and exclaimed “Don’t cry,”

“Craft!” They both shouted.

For the first time in a while, Dan felt truly happy.

He hadn’t even known something had been missing but he realized now what it was; Phil being this happy.

He hadn’t seen it in WEEKS.

Nothing made him more happy, than Phil being happy.


	8. Camera Goes Off and the Reality Remains

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Do you want to join me?"

Once the camera shut off, Dan once again realized what he had just done. What he was doing.

He was encouraging this despicable behavior from the previously innocent Phil. What the hell had gotten them to this point? Everything had been fine and normal a few weeks ago. When had everything gone wrong?

Why oh why hadn’t Dan just gotten off of his lazy ass and gotten the pizza himself or ordered from the usual place rather than some dodgy place that didn’t deliver?

Before he could react or express these thoughts in any way, Phil launched himself at Dan and wrapped his arms around him.

“Thank you Dan” Phil muttered “I needed that, and I’m glad that we are on the same page now.”

Phil is happy.

So happy with what’s going on.

If this made a literal angel happy, then what was so bad about it? He can’t take that away from him.

“Yeah, yeah so am I.” Dan replied.

Phil smiled even wider somehow as he leaned back, still sitting in Dan’s lap now.

Dan felt himself slowly becoming consumed by a sense of unease. He knew that Phil was about to say something big.

“What say we go and craft tonight?” Phil asked.

Dan froze.

Was Phil inviting him to this twisted nightly ritual of his? Why did he think that Dan would want any part in this? He was lucky that he wasn’t calling the cops, honestly.

“What do you mean?” Dan asked slightly on edge as to what meaning that statement could have and what was happening.

“Why don’t we go out to the room and make some art?” Phil asked, happy as a clam and seemingly oblivious to how uncomfortable Dan was getting.

Dan thought it over; Phil was offering for Dan to join him on his nightly escapade to ‘make art’. In result, Dan would become a criminal just like his friend had somehow become somewhere along the line.

Looking into Phil’s eyes, Dan felt his resolve slowly being melting away. If it was just once… what harm could it be?

Completely blinded by Phil’s joyful aura now, Dan agreed mindlessly.

Phil’s beam widened even more.

Suddenly, Phil leaned in and kissed Dan on the cheek in joy. “Thank you” he whispered in Dan’s ear.

Dan shivered in response of the intimacy. As much as he liked that, he didn’t like what he was about to do at all.

Unable to bring himself to pick up on the sinister vibes Phil was putting out, and mostly distracted by the small display of affection, Dan just nodded.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

~~_**It was amusing to Phil how easily Dan would follow along with him.** _ ~~

Where did that come from?

Okay, it’s okay.

~~_**'Everything is fine.'** _ ~~

~~_**'This is what you want.'** _ ~~

Phil smiled at the thought of him and Dan living happily together.

This was the way to achieve that, right?

Yeah, yeah this was okay.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Welcome back, Philip” the disembodied voice in the now familiar and comforting room greeted. Phil waved to the empty space in front of him with a smile.

“So, now what?” Dan asked, following Phil nervously.

How the fuck had his life come to this? Entering an underground ‘art studio’ with his idol/ best friend to ‘make art’? Why had this happened? Which raised the question, why Phil?

Did the person who dragged him into this know him previously, or was this always a thing and Dan had only noticed it recently?

Dan’s train of thought was cut off when Phil turned to Dan with a grin to fill him in on how the process worked.

Yes, he had witnessed it once before but the shock of the events would probably have made him forcibly push the event away. Out of sight, out of mind.

Once Dan was all caught up, Phil turned back to the place where his new canvas was supposed to appear.

Dan nearly gagged at the thought but suppressed and paid attention to his friend.

Once it was there, Phil picked up a knife from his materials and showed Dan how to go about making square flakes, just like the video, only on a larger canvas.

Dan felt nauseated as he cut into the flesh of the man or woman, he was too distracted to tell, in front of him.

After a moment, Dan turned to the side and vomited.

Phil patted his back and muttered reassurances, telling him that he was reacting was understandable and that he had been the same way at first.

“Eventually, you just get used to it” Phil said, trying to reassure Dan but only making him more convinced that he was living with a psychopath in the process.

Phil crouched down and sliced the shape of a star into the canvas before him. He then looked at Dan as if to say “Now you try”.

Dan complied and mimicked what he had seen his friend do a moment ago.

Once Dan got the hang of it, Phil allowed him to take over.

It was nauseating and psychologically damaging, but Dan got through it.

When he was done, he dropped the knife and once again turned to vomit.

Once he was done, he began to sob at how pathetic he was, following along with Phil as if this was normal then reacting like this.

He had to be sure what he wanted here, not just flit from mind set to mind set.

The right thing to do would be to report Phil and claim that he had forced him to do this, because in a way he had.

But that would mean losing Phil and he knew that many many people in the world would be heartbroken from that.

It was his job to act cheerful and make videos that would keep people happy anyways, right?

So why was he having so much trouble doing that for his best friend when he could do it for so many strangers?

When he was done, he nervously looked at Phil seeking approval and some confirmation that this was okay.

Phil smiled widely and hugged his best friend tightly.

Stroking his hair to calm him down, Phil pulled Dan into his lap as he sat down.

“You did a great job Dan” Phil whispered in his ear.

Dan smiled and let all guilt he felt previously about the horrible crime he had just committed fade away.

Phil was happy.

That was all that mattered to him.


End file.
